TMBRA - Rider Board

[specializedT]

From everything I've read, cycling is not considered to be weight bearing but mountain biking is different on the body than road riding. So, in relation to osteoporosis, could mountain biking be beneficial?

[The Bike Doc]

Mountain biking is not full weight bearing activity but far more so than road biking. Some mountain bikers may have a higher rate of bone loss than athletes who compete in weight bearing sports such as running. Mountain bikers will loose bone mass less rapidly than road bikers but still at a rate that can make then prone to calcium loss in the bones. (There was a good article on this in Bicycling Magazine about a year ago.) All things are relative. Mountain biking and/or road biking are WAY better for the body than the weight lifting exercises consisting of raising the remote and walking to the fridge, (AKA: couch potato aerobics). So keep on pedaling. For the benefit of your bones, you should add weight bearing exercise such as weight lifting or running to you training/exercise regimen.

Thanks,
_________________
Paul K. Nolan, MD
AKA: The Bike Doc

[Guest]

Thanks for the response. I also run a few times a week, do daily push-ups/sit-ups and a yoga class once or twice a week. I had a hysterectomy six weeks ago and the doctor brought up the issue and didn't know how mountain biking fit into the puzzle (I'm his first avid mountain biker).